Bond back in action

[Skuh]

Nolan's a very good director, and I think 'Prestige' and 'Batman Begins' were infinitely better than what he gets most credit for, namely TDK. The ambivalence of characters and their 'darkness' wasn't something Nolan invented. The desire for serious themes in action flicks was already there and there were movies that got the balance right as 'Casino Royale' showed. I think part of TDK's success was just being at the right place at the right time. It's just a pity that that's what put him on the map.

If anything, 'Casino Royale' should have encouraged Mendes to make a Bond film rather than TDK. CR showed how to get a Bond film right. (BTW, I re-watched Die Another Day recently and damn, is it a monumentally stupid movie. Brosnan deserved a better final script.)

So if Skyfall is in the same vein as CR and NOT TDK, then I'm really excited for it.

Sam Mendes said Casino showed how a bond film could be ( i may be paraphrasing slightly, cant remember the exact words). He was especially worried about the opening sequence as he thinks CR is the best Bond opening sequence. I think Skyfall is.

Saw the film this morning. I loved it. Heard coomparisons with a dark night and meh. There are some but it is not how I would choose to describe it.
I would say it keeps the darker tone and grittiness of CR but brings it back to the more classic Bond style at the same time. The perfect blend in my opinion.
May be my favourite Bond film ever.
He is my favourite Bond of all time now.

 

[JediRage]

I would say it keeps the darker tone and grittiness of CR but brings it back to the more classic Bond style at the same time. The perfect blend in my opinion.

Sounds good. 👍

 

[Ardius]

Spoiler

What a disappointing film. Only a little bit better than Quantum of Solace (not saying much) but otherwise pretty weak both in plot and script.

Acting great, locations, great (though I'm pretty un-convinced with Scotland...), action, great...they got everything right except the plot.

Felt it was a bit bizarre to continue the "gritty" () Bond but put silly references/jokes in. It came off as a bit dis-interested in itself. Like it didn't care and had to whimsically laugh at itself.

Meh.

 

[TyrrellRacing]

Wouldn't say 10/10 but certainly 8/10 at least. Some of the plot was fairly obvious and it wasn't really "dark" but apart from that I really enjoyed it.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

If anything, 'Casino Royale' should have encouraged Mendes to make a Bond film rather than TDK.

For all the good things that CASINO ROYALE did for the series, QUANTUM OF SOLACE undid them. It was directionless, listless, and substituted substance for action.

CR showed how to get a Bond film right.

CASINO ROYALE deliberately played the conservative approach. Its priority was re-establishing the place of Bond in the modern cinema. It is a good film, sure - it's in my top five - but I think following it too closely will ultiamtely hurt the series in the long run, simply because of that conservatism.

(BTW, I re-watched Die Another Day recently and damn, is it a monumentally stupid movie. Brosnan deserved a better final script.)

Blame Lee Tamahori. He meddled a lot in the script.

Also, DIE ANOTHER DAY was never intended to be Brosnan's final film. EON wanted to keep going with him in the role, but they realised that they had taken things too far, and the only sure way to get back on track was to reboot the franchise. They kept some familiar elements - mainly Judi Dench as M - but Brosnan was one of the first casualties.

 

[Liquid]

I liked Skyfall.

An enjoyable film, but some of the in-jokes were a bit lame. A return to form for Craig though, quite enjoyed his performance. Very Dalton-esque film wise; more true to the books in my opinion.

 

[Pagey279]

Saw it this evening, but only just. Had to see the latest showing tonight as the rest were sold out.

It lived up to the hype, I really enjoyed it. Good acting, great action sequences, nice plot, everything was how it should have been. But I did find the dialogue between Bond and Moneypenney a bit on the cheesy side though. They were the kind of lines you've heard a million times before. Also the lack of a really beautiful women was a tad disappointing.

All in all a 9/10 for me, best Bond film I've seen, and it can compete with the best of the rest.

 

[Waheed]

The film is very good, direction and acting is great. But I didn't like the last 30-mins or so, it was strange and not bondish. probably a 8/10

 

[gogatrs]

Wow.

 

[Liquid]

I need some back up.

I rate Dalton as a Bond. To me, he's very similar to the Bond whom you find in the books. His films are good, and were a refreshing change of direction after the tongue-in-cheek nature of the Moore years.

But none of my friends agree with me. They automatically say that he's poor and never back it up with reasons.

Surely I'm not the only one who likes him?

 

[corporatesteve]

I just wish they picked better actors/looks for Q and money penny.... I dont like the whole mac book nerd guy with hipster glasses, its too of a stereotype for that role for Q.

 

[Skuh]

I just wish they picked better actors/looks for Q and *********** I dont like the whole mac book nerd guy with hipster glasses, its too of a stereotype for that role for Q.

Yes, but we have already had two ther Q's who weren't like that, so in the Bond world, he is different.

Oh, and maybe put a big warning if you are going to reveal a spoiler. It is only polite and courteous.

I need some back up.

I rate Dalton as a Bond. To me, he's very similar to the Bond whom you find in the books. His films are good, and were a refreshing change of direction after the tongue-in-cheek nature of the Moore years.

But none of my friends agree with me. They automatically say that he's poor and never back it up with reasons.

Surely I'm not the only one who likes him?

Dalton is the most Bond like of all the film actors. My favourite is now Craig, but Dalton was most definitely the most like Flemmings Bond. Craig is too deep feeling for the Bond books. Flemmings Bond had a much more indifferent even melancholy approach than the other bonds in the films. I liked Dalton.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Craig is too deep feeling for the Bond books.

Actually, if you've read the novels, you'd see that Craig is actually very close to Fleming's Bond. Fleming's Bond was never the happy-go-lucky man that Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan played him as. He was often disinfatuated, bored and suffering from lassitude.

 

[JediRage]

Spoiler

Home Alone

nuff said.

 

[Skuh]

Actually, if you've read the novels, you'd see that Craig is actually very close to Fleming's Bond. Fleming's Bond was never the happy-go-lucky man that Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan played him as. He was often disinfatuated, bored and suffering from lassitude.

Actually I have read all the Fleming Novels (though not for a few years) and the Faulks novel, which was meh. I also never said Moore, Brosnan, Connery, Or Lazenby was like the Bond in the books. not sure where you got that?
I agree with you on Moore and Brosnan. Like I said. I think Dalton had the best portrayal of the Fleming Bond.
Like I said it's been a while but Casino Royale for instance, even when Bond is recuperating in hospital after being tortured, he starts to fall in love and thinks about leaving m16. I don't remember him having the same brooding deepness that Craig portrays. I suppose after reading your reply and thinking about it, craig does have that melancholy of the books, but I don't immediately feel that like I did with Dalton.
Either way, Craig is my favourite Bond.

Edit: I don't see the relationship between Craig and M happening in the Books with that Bond. It's that side that doesn't feel like Flemings Bond to me. It's not how they had Dalton play it either.

 

[Liquid]

Actually, if you've read the novels, you'd see that Craig is actually very close to Fleming's Bond. Fleming's Bond was never the happy-go-lucky man that Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan played him as. He was often disinfatuated, bored and suffering from lassitude.

Absolutely, Craig is an authentic Bond. In the books, Bond is a cold and sometimes cruel man, who seems as though he has serious doubts over his profession and seems burnt out, with enough energy and willpower for one more job. To me, Dalton also portrayed him in a similar manner and that's why I like him. But most people seem to instantly associate Bond with the cheerful and playful natures of Moore, Connery and Brosnan.

Also, I think I'm right in remembering that Bond is offically an intelligence officer and not a secret agent.

 

[cgr-10]

I saw it for the first time yesterday and I have to say, it's one of my favourite, if not my outright favourite Bond film of all time. The last scenes were pretty uncharacteristic of a Bond title but I enjoyed them all the same; it only reinforced my view that Daniel Craig is the best actor to play 007 and gets closer than anybody else to portraying the man Fleming described in his books.

 

[SuperShouden]

I like Craig's Bond because he hardly ever shows emotion. Occassionally he'll smile, but for the most part, he's impossible to read. So, he's dark, has an excellent poker face...a really great spy, really. I will say that, resently...Bond has kinda been getting himself into some tight situations. It's not like Connery's Bond who always seemed to have a way out. Craig's Bond just seems to wing it most of the time. Which, really, makes for a better movie, in my opinion.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Also, I think I'm right in remembering that Bond is offically an intelligence officer and not a secret agent.

He is a Royal Navy Commander, CMG(Order of St. Michael and St. George) RNVR(Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve). Ironically, Flemming himself is also a Royal Navy Commander.

Edit: I don't see the relationship between Craig and M happening in the Books with that Bond. It's that side that doesn't feel like Flemings Bond to me. It's not how they had Dalton play it either.

It could be that there wasn't a female M in the books. It was inconceivable back in WWII that there would be female intelligence officers as most of them were kept from non-combat roles. They largely filled in doing what normal civilians would do had they not went off to war.

 

[Liquid]

He is a Royal Navy Commander, CMG(Order of St. Michael and St. George) RNVR(Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve). Ironically, Flemming himself is also a Royal Navy Commander.

What I meant was, was that his job at the SIS was that of an intelligence officer, and not an agent. Agents are not members of the staff, which Bond was.

 

[Sanji Himura]

What I meant was, was that his job at the SIS was that of an intelligence officer, and not an agent. Agents are not members of the staff, which Bond was.

Oh. I thought you meant something else.

Well this whole debate really surfaced during Skyfall. I can put to bed that the SIS agents are not always cut out to be agents and best suited as staff, as Moneypenny proved in the film. However, that doesn't prove my response about Bond's rank any less valid as he was indeed a Commander in the Royal Navy. That, beyond a reasonable doubt, should provide evidence that he was indeed an intelligence officer who has a license to kill. His superior, M, is supposed to be an Admiral, but film canon has shuffled that around enough times that we don't get a clear understanding about the character anymore.

 

[Villain]

While I enjoyed Skyfall immensely, I came away with the feeling that the plot would've been better had it not being a Bond movie.

A lot of the action sequences and fights were rather cheesy as well.

 

[Mike Rotch]

A little bit late to the party, but it was only released this week here...

Spoiler

Pretty meh to be honest. In my opinion, only just above QoS but way below CR in terms of being a good 'Bond' film.

Far too few car chases, too many plot holes (starting with an Audi A6 not being able to outrun a Land Rover, then him getting blown off his feet by a humble assault rifle - not a sniper rifle - equipped with a sniper scope from the train scene, followed by falling 150 feet into water and not being crippled from the impact...), and about 30 minutes of story that could have just as easily been editted out.

Q was really annoying too, the whole "OMG, we've been hacked" line was about 5 minutes in the making.

 

[Villain]

A little bit late to the party, but it was only released this week here...

Spoiler

Pretty meh to be honest. In my opinion, only just above QoS but way below CR in terms of being a good 'Bond' film.

Far too few car chases, too many plot holes (starting with an Audi A6 not being able to outrun a Land Rover, then him getting blown off his feet by a humble assault rifle - not a sniper rifle - equipped with a sniper scope from the train scene, followed by falling 150 feet into water and not being crippled from the impact...), and about 30 minutes of story that could have just as easily been editted out.

Q was really annoying too, the whole "OMG, we've been hacked" line was about 5 minutes in the making.

Nailed it.

Spoiler

But then you have to admit that Javier Bardem helps make up for a ton of that. He was fantastic and easily the best part of that movie.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Nailed it.

Spoiler

But then you have to admit that Javier Bardem helps make up for a ton of that. He was fantastic and easily the best part of that movie.

Agreed, he was very good 👍

 

[Sanji Himura]

While I do agree that Bardem was very good, you have to go into the fact that tone of the movie helped very well in bringing out the emotion of Bond and the villain. It was like Bardem said when the two first met...

...Well, I won't spoil it, but you get the message.

Spoiler

England, as a nation in the film was weighing the relevance of MI6 in the modern world when all of a sudden, not one, but two cyber attacks happen in their HQ, and what was it that Q said, "Well, I'll hazard I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pajamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field."

Clearly, the lines between cyber terrorism and traditional grunt work in the field are becoming blurred, and that is something that Silva shows a deciding understanding of even during his days as section chief.

 

[Ardius]

I need some back up.

I rate Dalton as a Bond. To me, he's very similar to the Bond whom you find in the books. His films are good, and were a refreshing change of direction after the tongue-in-cheek nature of the Moore years.

But none of my friends agree with me. They automatically say that he's poor and never back it up with reasons.

Surely I'm not the only one who likes him?

Dalton is the most Bond like of all the film actors. My favourite is now Craig, but Dalton was most definitely the most like Flemmings Bond. Craig is too deep feeling for the Bond books. Flemmings Bond had a much more indifferent even melancholy approach than the other bonds in the films. I liked Dalton.

Timothy Dalton is my fave Bond too. I haven't read the books, so I can't comment on those, but he is more well-rounded.
He isn't too silly and a bit more serious, but equally he does have some humour and doesn't take things completely 100% seriously. He indulges himself when the job is done, but until then he is 100% focused on the job, using anything he can to get it done.

I still like to imagine Goldeneye with Dalton still as Bond instead. Its still a great film, but I feel Dalton versus Sean Bean would have been much more awesome.
At least Dalton had a villain who used milk bottle grenades.

 

[Liquid]

I still like to imagine Goldeneye with Dalton still as Bond instead. Its still a great film, but I feel Dalton versus Sean Bean would have been much more awesome.
At least Dalton had a villain who used milk bottle grenades.

I love GoldenEye, and Pierce Brosnan was a very handsome bloke in his day, but I would kill to see Dalton's take on GoldenEye. After the revenge factor in Licence To Kill, the betrayal in GoldenEye would have made for a simply brilliant film, with Dalton's burnt out and as you say, melancholic Bond.

 

[RTSolvalou]

I haven't seen it, felt little urge to, and even more so after the advertising and promos showed off everything that happens in the film, leaving you no real surprises to enjoy at all.

 

[Liquid]

So you haven't seen it but assume you know the entire plot?

Okay.